Putting Things in Line
by nuthin-is-sound
Summary: Greg, being rejected over and over, might actually be of some use. In a terrible fire, and a wouldhavebeen mother burnt, CSI must solve the case of who done it and why.
1. Chapter 1

**Putting Things in Line**

Grissom, scratching his grey beard as he moved, got out of the new CSI navy Hummer in a Black button-down shirt, and tan slacks. She removed his shades, and put them atop his head like a hat.

Nick, being a very tall, and having semi-spiky dark brown hair, got out of the passenger seat from the same Hummer.

"So, why are we here again?" Nick asked, keeping his awesome shades on.

Grissom didn't even face him. He replied, as if talking to the air in front of him,

"The usual." He turned around and opened up the backseat door of the CSI car.

"Greg," he said as he popped his head inside the car, "you know you are a CSI agent, correct?"

Greg stared up from his laptop.

"Yes, Grissom, I am aware," Greg replied.

"Then I suggest you get out of your world, and come back to ours." Grissom said, and then pulled his head back out of the doorway.

Greg closed his laptop, and then got out of the car.

"So where's Sara?" Greg asked, shading his eyes from the sun.

Nick snickered.

"If you were smart," he said to Greg, "you would have brought sunglasses. Yeah, Grissom, where **is** Sara?"

Grissom didn't reply immediately. Then,

"Sara will be here. In the mean time, let's head in this burn down shack with the police. They're inside."

Grissom started to walk away from the other two gentlemen. Nick then began to walk behind his leader, but as he was passing Greg, he shouldered Greg hardly.

"What the heck?" Greg shouted.

Nick turned around, pretending to be confused.

"Yo, sorry, bro. Geez, chill," Nick replied, cool, and calm.

Greg shook his head as he started up behind the two others. Then, they heard something, coming up in the road behind them.

_Brappa-brappa-boom-brappa_ the noise went.

"Sara!" Greg had turned around, and shouted.

Sara pulled up on a motorcycle, and stopped right in front of the Hummer. She turned the motorcycle off, and took off her helmet. Then, she put her sunglasses on her head, just like Grissom.

"Hey, guys!" She smiled. She walked up to the guys. Nick had turned around as well, but Grissom was talking with the police about the resident fire.

Sara continued to walk up, and outstretched her arms, before getting to Greg.

Greg outstretched his, but Sara walked right past him. She went behind Greg to Nick, and they hugged.

"Hey, Nick," she said.

"Sup, Sara?" He replied.

Sara giggled and they hugged some more.

"Well, well, well, Sara," Greg walked up to them, hands in pockets, "for someone who said they would never have a life, you sure have found a love one!"

Sara gave Greg a dirty look and then continued to look at Nick. Greg grimaced, and then walked right past them.

Nick put his arm around Sara's waist, and they walked up to Grismm.

"Grissom," Greg asked, "what's the scoop?"

Grissom looked at Greg.

"Fire," he said. "A big one. Looks like a gas spill, but they're not sure. Apparently, no one in the house smoked, so even if it was a gas spill, no cigarette fell on it, and started the fire. No fire place, no radiator, but everyone home."

"Everyone home…?" Greg asked.

"Yes, everyone was home, Greg. No one went out that whole day."

"How do you know?"

"Greg, we are CSI. We have ways. Maybe you should turn up the brain juice just a little higher today."

"Yeah, Greg," Nick added. He had been ignoring all of the conversation that Greg and Grissom had had, but not that last line.

Grissom turned around and started to talk to the police again.

"Hey, shut up, lover boy!" Greg said.

"Leave Nick alone, Greg. And Nick, stop it," Sara butted in. But Greg was glad she had.

"Quiet, all of you," Grissom said. "Now, Sara," he continued, Nick let go of Sara's waist, and Sara became alert, "go inside, and check for any clues as to **what** started the fire. Just in case no one started the fire, it could have been a broken wire, or something."

Sara nodded and went inside the burnt house.

"Nick," Grissom pointed at his right-hand-man, "look in as to **who** started the fire. Since no one was home, someone else might have started it."

Nick put away his comb that he was using, and went in after Sara.

Grissom started to go inside as well, but Greg grabbed his arm.

"Yeah, b-but what about me?" He asked.

Grissom thought.

"Do whatever makes you look smart," Grissom finally said, and went inside.

Greg stood there for four hours, doing nothing.

Mean while, Sara was in the kitchen, and it was getting dark. She was using a flashlight, and inspecting the half-burnt fridge, checking to see if anything in there could have started the blaze. Nothing.

She went over to the huge pile of rubble to the left of the fridge and pulled away a few non-sharp pieces of metal. She didn't find anything until she got to the bottom of the pile. She found part of a burnt hand!

Sara picked it up, and roughly inspected it. It was about the size of hers. She could not tell if it was a woman's or a man's, but it was something. She put the hand into a special plastic bag, and sealed it.

"Found something?" Grissom asked Sara, who spooked up on her behind her back.

Sara jumped, and held her heart.

"Good God, Grissom, give me a heart attack!" She choked out.

"That's what I'm here for!" He replied with a smile.

"What's all the commotion?" Nick entered the kitchen. "Sara! Sara, are you alright?"

Nick wrapped his arms around her body, and then released, making sure that she was "alright".

"Yes, Nick, you don't have to go all macho on me!" Sara said, tugging away a little.

"Enough, you two!" Grissom said sternly. "Sara, what have you found?"

Sara reconstructed her body from leaning over. She held out the bag, and Grissom took it, inspecting it as she spoke:

"I found a hand," she began.

"Eeeww…" Nick interrupted.

"Nick, please," Grissom stopped him. "Continue, Sara. Geez, he deals with this stuff almost everyday," he mumbled.

Sara nodded.

"Well, there's not much to continue of. As soon as I found it, Grissom gave me a heart attack."

Nick smirked.

"It's a woman's hand," Grissom affirmed.

"How can you tell?" Sara asked, looking at the hand that Grissom had held out for them all to see.

"'Cause it's hot. Get it? Hot!" Nick laughed.

Sara rolled her eyes, and said, "Hey, hey Nick."

"What?" He asked still laughing a little.

"Shut up."

Nick stopped laughing.

"Oh, you two," Grissom muttered. Then continued, "No. I know it's a woman's because, here, look at the finger. See that black stuff?"

"Yes," Sara agreed.

"Yes," Nick said, "so what?"

"So," Grissom said, "look over at that knife. See the handle? The black stuff on the handle burned off onto the finger."

"So? The husband could have been cooking."

"How do you know that there even **was** a husband?" Sara asked.

"Because," Grissom answered, "the husband was in bed. I found human ashes in the bed. The wife must have gone into the bedroom to wake up her husband, but he wouldn't wake up, so she went back into the kitchen to call for help, but burned in the process."

"Now I know why you're the head agent."

The three smiled, and left the vicinity…for now.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

"Well, Catherine," Grissom said, "nice of you to finally join us."

As Grissom started walking back to the Hummer, Sara and Catherine hugged, and then Nick suddenly headed his was into their conversation, until Catherine finally said that she had to go because her Camry was in the back of the house.

After then watching Grissom go back to the station on the motorcycle, Nick and Sara decided it was time for a little make-out in the car, while Greg was trying to get through the locked car doors.

Soon after, Nick and Sara had forgotten about Greg and took off without him.

"Great," Greg—the alone Greg—said to himself after everybody had left him there, "the police are gone, Grissom, Catherine, Sara, and Nick are gone, and all is a disaster! Joy—to—the—world."

Greg sat down on the driveway, and figured it'd be best just to make the time useful instead of just lying around, waiting for somebody at the HQ to notice he was gone.

Greg made his was into the dark, burned—down house. It was about 6 now, and even though it was summer, things were getting dark.

Greg clicked on his flashlight and took a look around the living room first…or what _used_ to be the living room. There was a chalk silhouette of a dog.

"Grissom, Grissom, Grissom," Greg smiled to himself, "what would we do without you?"

"Well, for one thing, you'd still be in deep—and I mean _really_ deep—crap right now."

Greg jumped, and then turned around.

"Jesus, Grissom! Nearly killed me!"

"That's twice in one day," Grissom joked, but didn't smile, "a new record." _Then_ he smiled.

Greg stood upright.

"Ready?" Grissom asked him.

"For…?" Greg replied.

Grissom slapped his forehead.

"I swear, Greg, your brain is on 'off—mode' today!"

Greg blushed.

"Maybe…." He answered with a sheepish smile.

"So, you want to look around some more, or head back?"

"Oh please. If I have a choice between Nick and a case,"

"Mmm—hmm,"

"I'd most definitely pick the case."

"Alright. What room would your prefer, Haunted, or nonhaunted?"

The whites of Greg's eyes went as wide as dinner plates.

"Then again, Nick isn't so bad, let's go!"

Then Greg ran out of the house faster than a roadrunner, with Grissom not too far behind.

As soon as Grissom and Greg were safely back at the HQ, Nick and Sara were working on the hand, and Catherine and Warrick were trying to analyze "Who done it".

"Grissom," Greg said, grabbing Grissom's arm before they went inside, "Nick and everybody else really don't need me. I—I mean…"

"You like Sara, don't you?" Grissom asked with a sly smile.

"No, it's just that I'm not appreciated!"

"Grissom, come inside! We found a fingerprint!" Nick yelled from inside.

"No, I found it," Sara yelled from behind Nick.

"Coming, you love birds!" Grissom yelled. "Greg, we've got our own problems."

Then, Greg was left out in the heavy rain.

"What did you find?" Grissom asked Sara and Nick…more of Sara.

"We found who the hand belonged to," Sara declared.

"And who might that be?"

"Nick, you wanna tell him?"

"Sure, Sara. Griss, ma man, it was Lori Fann. She was married to Nicholas Fann, and a dog named Possum. And--,"

"And what, Nick?"

"And," Sara continued, "she was pregnant with a baby boy, four months."

"And--?"

"And…they died in a fire?" Nick said.

Grissom gave Nick a look that said, "No duh, you stupid butt."

Then, Greg finally entered.


End file.
